Where three cans of beer is worth one toilet toll: Facebook and Nextdoor are flooded with posts from people wanting to barter with neighbors after panic-buying emptied store shelves
- State lockdowns fueled stockpiling of bread, milk, eggs and other necessities
- The shutdowns also prompted panic buyers to empty shelves of toilet tissue, hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, paper towels, Lysol and other coveted items
- One post showed a person asking for sugar in exchange for dog or cat food
- Two people exchanged a carton of eggs for two double rolls of toilet tissue
- A post showed people asking to trade items like 5 pounds of flour for some yeast
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In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the barter system is making a comeback with people taking to Facebook and the Nextdoor app to swap items like eggs for toilet paper.
When the coronavirus started to rapidly spread in the US last month and governors began announcing statewide shutdowns, panicked shoppers emptied most store shelves of hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, paper towels and toilet tissue.
The state lockdowns also fueled stockpiling of bread, milk, eggs and other necessities, overloading delivery services like Instacart, which said order volumes had risen over 150 per cent in the last few weeks.
Grocery stores have assured the public that shortages of supplies like toilet paper are only temporary, but for now, people are taking to social media groups and neighborhood apps in a bid to procure coveted items through bartering.
When the coronavirus started to rapidly spread in the US last month and governors began announcing statewide shutdowns, panicked shoppers emptied most store shelves of hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, paper towels and toilet tissue. Shelves in a Maryland store
Grocery stores have assured the public that shortages of supplies like toilet paper are only temporary, but for now, people are taking to social media groups and neighborhood apps in a bid to procure coveted items through bartering
One Twitter user shared a Nextdoor post that asked: ‘Does anybody have any sugar? I could trade for dog or cat food’
One person who uses Nextdoor, which connects users within the same neighborhood, tweeted that the app ‘has turned into a bartering site’.
‘I am currently trying to trade 5 pounds of flour for yeast. Saw someone trade an entire ham for a pack of clorox wipes,’ the user added.
One Twitter user shared a Nextdoor post that asked: ‘Does anybody have any sugar? I could trade for dog or cat food.’
‘When I saw this Nextdoor post had 31 comments I thought for sure this person was getting dunked on by snarky commenters. But no! It was 31 comments of people actually trying to get this person sugar, some even willing to trade for cat food!’ the user shared.
Another user wrote: ‘My Nextdoor app is starting to sound a lot like your animal crossing conversations, with neighbors constantly talking about wanting to trade each other oranges for limes or lemons for oranges.’
The bartering is also happening on Facebook in public and private groups.
Toilet tissue (file image) has probably been the hottest commodity for people to hoard
The bartering is also happening on Facebook in public and private groups
Some people were even looking to trade items for masks for delivery drivers
One person said they started the bartering group after their friend attempted to trade eggs for flour to make bread ‘without having to go to a store’.
‘We are looking to trade Clorox wipes for pancake syrup and or baking soda,’ one Facebook user wrote.
Another person was even looking to trade items for masks for delivery drivers.
Chell Garvin of Springfield, Missouri, saw a post from a friend on Facebook who said she was able to get an 18-roll pack of toilet paper, according to Bloomberg.
Garvin told the news site that they exchanged an 18-count carton of eggs for two double rolls.
Allie Walker-Lavette, of Jacksonville, Florida, swapped a carton of eggs with her daughter who gave her an order of margaritas-to-go from a local restaurant.